ITT: purple prose

ITT: purple prose

Inigo-Montoya.jpg

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>But were the coming narrative to reveal in any instance, the complete abasement of poor Starbuck’s fortitude, scarce might I have the heart to write it; for it is a thing most sorrowful, nay shocking, to expose the fall of valour in the soul. Men may seem detestable as joint stock-companies and nations; knaves, fools, and murderers there may be; men may have mean and meagre faces; but man, in the ideal, is so noble and so sparkling, such a grand and glowing creature, that over any ignominious blemish in him all his fellows should run to throw their costliest robes. That immaculate manliness we feel within ourselves, so far within us, that it remains intact though all the outer character seem gone; bleeds with keenest anguish at the undraped spectacle of a valor-ruined man. Nor can piety itself, at such a shameful sight, completely stifle her upbraidings against the permitting stars. But this august dignity I treat of, is not the dignity of kings and robes, but that abounding dignity which has no robed investiture. Thou shalt see it shining in the arm that wields a pick or drives a spike; that democratic dignity which, on all hands, radiates without end from God; Himself! The great God absolute! The centre and circumference of all democracy! His omnipresence, our divine equality!

This is poetry in prose form, bro. Not genre fiction. Unless this was bait to help you defend your love for literature and have some passerby do the work for you so some other passerby can also reap the benefit, then consider leaving.

You're better off starting a thread about books with anemic prose.

If it's not invisible prose then it's purple. That's the rules.

Yeah, so whining "stock-companies" [sic] doesn't advance character, plot, or setting. It's flowery masturbation for flowery pseuds and should have been cut by the editor

Looks like the Children's Illustrated Classics version of Moby Dick has done its damage to you.

Okay, your [sic] got me. I know what this is. But for any passerby who doesn't know any better, I'll humor you:

Advancing character, plot, or setting is not what literature is about. Does the tale of cuckoldry in Don Quixote advance character, plot, or setting? Not necessarily, but it is still a damn good sideshow. And in fact, Ishmael here complaining of joint stock-companies and nations does "advance" character and setting, if what you truly want is to boil down literature and reading to such stock-company terms like plot, character, and setting, instead of ideas of morality, beauty, wisdom, universality, etc.

but m-muh telegraphic prose

Please lay off the adjectives, you will never be Shakespeare, shut your purple mouth up, thank you.

That is truly beautiful prose. I have read it and consult it regularly, but you should post the chapter source.

Chap 26. Knights and Squires. I'm glad you like it, man. Anyone else who does would likewise consistently enjoy Melville.

There's one adjective in that post.

Sometimes, most of the time, good writing isn't about advancing character plot or setting. Technically everything "advances" setting if it's description of the books setting.
You sound like a tv and movie addled infant. Great literature isn't a blockbuster that needs to hit the right story points in 2 hours.

He's baiting you, retard.

count again retard, there's like seven

I would go back in time and kill Ernest Hemingway if I could.

'purple prose' is such a worthless criticism.

Ah yes, the prose. The prooooooose. the PROOOOOOOSE. There's a reason why the pseuds on this website are always so willing to talk about "the prose" of a book when discussing its merits or flaws. Why attempt to analyze the merits and effects of the literary devices used to add to the development of characters, why attempt to understand the interplay of the perspectives of different characters and the emphasis this places on different themes, the spectrum of ironies used throughout the novel, the historical significance of the novel and the influence it has spawned in literary tradition or the influences seen throughout the work, the specific structure and literary underpinnings of the novel and the way it influences the tone, the author's relationship to the characters and the theme, the presentation of the novel itself to the audience and thus the relationship between reader and text --- why do any of this, when you could talk about "the prose?" You know that you have such a deep understanding of the book, don't you, when you talk about "the prose," the "musicality of it," the "sparseness." What a great artistic touch you have, don't you! Such a highly refined poetic sense! And you feel like such a true reader of literature when you are able to compare these styles: "I am partial to the lyricism of Joyce's prose, as well as the clean and scientific prose of Borges," you might say. What a deep understanding you show! Because the "prose" of a work is such an accessible topic, something that is felt immediately in the body and senses, a nice little sensation and flutter of the heart. Art obviously has nothing else to it, nothing other than the little sensations that I experience, because why should i attempt to understand it on a deeper level than this, when I have such a "refined" sense of the "prose?" Why even attempt to analyze the prose and the poetic and rhythmical underpinnings of it, when I could use a pretty little metaphor for it? It matters little that virtually every reader of literature has access to the music of the words and so my understanding is not quite so advanced as I would think, that form is something that goes hand in hand with theme, that I missed all the deep relationships between characters and between text and reader that existed in the work and that comprise a large part of the literary merit of the text, for my understanding of "the prose" shows such a mastery of language, a fine-tuned sense of the magical flow of the words! Having understood this work, I may as well move onto the next, the next bundle of pretty sensations to experience, the next bagful of fun linguistic treats!

It's not. It's how to spot pretentiousness. Moby Dick is not purple prose because it serves a purpose in carving out key details without overbearing the reader with useless umimportant horseshit.